The present disclosure relates generally to the field of mining and excavation systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to hoist and drag systems for use with mining equipment, such as draglines and power shovels.
Draglines, power shovels, and even sub-surface mining systems often use large hoist and drag systems or mechanisms for deploying and retrieving mining implements. The mining implements, such as buckets, shovels, and lines, collect and move heavy deposits. For example, in strip mining operations an upper layer of soil or rock called “overburden” is removed with large shovels and buckets to expose a seam of mineral deposits or other material to be mined.
Draglines and power shovels are typically very large pieces of mining equipment. By way of example, a dragline may include a boom on the order of 150 to 435 feet long, a bucket sized to move nearly 400 tons of material per cycle, and a housing for storing the main machinery of the dragline, where one small portion of the housing includes a bridge for a human operator. Draglines operate by dragging the bucket over a surface of the mine to collect the overburden. The bucket is then moved so that the overburden may be dumped away from the dig area. Such maneuvering of the bucket is typically accomplished via a hoist and drag system.
Hoist and drag systems are not limited to draglines. Such systems may be used with a broad range of mining and other heavy equipment. Some excavators and conveyors use hoist and drag systems to maneuver a working implement or to transport material. Power shovels, stripping shovels, front shovel, electric mining shovels, and other such mining equipment use hoist and drag systems to maneuver a bucket. Outside of mining, for example, hoist and drag systems may be used with construction equipment to maneuver other equipment and materials.